“Industrial” is a descriptor that fans
and critics have applied to a remarkable variety of music: the oildrum pounding
of Einstürzende Neubauten, the processed electronic groans of Throbbing
Gristle, the drumloop clatter of Skinny Puppy, and the synthpop songcraft of
VNV Nation, to name just a few.
But the stylistic breadth and subcultural longevity of industrial music
suggests that the common ground here might not be any one particular sound, but
instead a network of ideologies.
This book traces industrial music’s attitudes and practices from their
earliest articulations—a hundred years ago—through the genre’s mid-1970s
formation and its development up to the present and beyond.

Taking cues from radical intellectuals
like Antonin Artaud, William S. Burroughs, and Guy Debord, industrial musicians
sought to dismantle deep cultural assumptions so thoroughly normalized by
media, government, and religion as to seem invisible. More extreme than punk, industrial music revolted against
the very ideas of order and reason: it sought to strip away the brainwashing
that was identity itself. It
aspired to provoke, bewilder, and roar with independence. Of course, whether this revolution
succeeded is another question.

Assimilate is the first serious study published on
industrial music. Through incisive
discussions of musicians, audiences, marketers, cities, and songs, this book
traces industrial values, methods, and goals across forty years of
technological, political, and artistic change. A scholarly musicologist and a longtime industrial musician,
S. Alexander Reed provides deep insight not only into the genre’s history but
also into its ambiguous relationship with symbols of totalitarianism and
evil. Voicing frank criticism and
affection alike, this book reveals the challenging and sometimes inspiring ways
that industrial music both responds to and shapes the world.

Assimilate is essential reading for anyone who has
ever imagined limitless freedom, danced alone in the dark, or longed for more
noise.